Water propelling means for vehicles

ABSTRACT

A vehicle having a buoyant body and one or more driven axles for transmitting a drive to traction means for supporting and propelling the vehicle on land. A cavity is provided on each side of the body about atleast one driven axle and cooperates with a centrifugal impeller wheel which is secured to the axle to thereby generate a propelling thrust to the vehicle when utilized on water.

United States Patent Houle 1 Sept. 5, 1972 [54] WATER PROPELLING MEANSFOR [56] References Cited VEHICLES FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS [72]Inventor: Guy J. Houle, Dollard des Ormeau x,

Quebec Canada 1,041,401 9/1966 Great Bntam ..ll5/l 824,031 9/1969 Canada..115/1 [73] Assignee: Maurice E. Hebert, Dollard des 011118311X,Quebec, Canada Primary Examiner-Andrew H. Farrell l'l p 22] F 1l,d. July6, 1970 ABSTRACT [21] Appl' 57024 A vehicle having a buoyant body andone or more driven axles for transmitting a drive to traction means{30'} Foreign Application Priority Data for supporting and propellingthe vehicle on land. A

cavity is provided on each side of the body about at- March 3, 1970Canada ..076,42l least one driven axle and cooperates with acemrifugalimpeller wheel which is secured to the axle to thereby (SI. generate apropelling thrust to the vehicle when uti] o u s n ed t I i581 Field ofSearch ..115/1 wa er 8 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures PATENTEDSEP 519123.68813 1 I sum 2 [IF 2 45 42 Halo 43/ WATER PROPELLING MEANS FORVEHICLES This invention relates to water propelling means for use onwater-going vehicles having a driven axle for driving traction means.

In the prior art known to the applicant, there is disclosed variousdevices to propulse track and wheel vehicles on water. However, themajority of these devices are not very effective, are too costly, bulkyand difficult to manufacture because of their complexity.

It is an object of the present invention to provide one or more impellerwheels for propelling a water-going vehicle.

Accordingly, from a broad aspect, the present invention relates to avehicle having a buoyant body and one or more driven axles fortransmitting a drive to traction means. A cavity is provided in eachside of the body about one or more of the driven axles for accomodatinga respective centrifugal pumping wheel secured to one or more drivenaxle. The cavities each have an arcuate face in close proximity with aportion of the outer periphery of its respective pumping wheel an anoutlet portion extending away from the pumping wheel. The pumping wheelin the cavity generates a propelling thrust to the vehicle when operatedon water.

The invention will now be described with reference to the followingdrawings:

FIG. 1 is a fragmented side view of an impeller wheel,

FIG. 2 is a side section view of FIG. 1,

FIG. 3 is a side view of a vehicle showing impeller wheels adapted toits driven axles,

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the vehicle of FIG. 3,

FIG 5 is a fragmented side view of a part of FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is a view along cross-section lines V1Vl of FIG. 5,

FIG. 7 is a further fragmented side view of a part of FIG. 3,illustrating a further embodiment of the invention,

FIG. 8 is a view along section lines V111V11l of FIG. 7,

FIG. 9 is a fragmented side view of a further embodiment, and

FIG. 10 is a view along cross-section lines X-X of FIG. 9.

Referring now to the drawings and more particularly to FIGS. 1 and 2there is shown generally at 10 a centrifugal pumping impeller wheel. Theimpeller wheel 10 is rigidly secured to a driven axle 11 by such meansas a tension pin 12 treaded through the hub portion 13 of the impellerwheel 10. A plurality of arcuately extending vanes 14 are providedintegraly and spaced equidistantly between the two circular side plates15. The vanes 14 are secured at their edges to the side plates anddisposed equidistantly about the hub portion 12. The side plates 15 areeach provided with a circular aperture 16 near its center which is oflarger diameter than the outer periphery of the hub portion 12 tothereby define an inlet port 17 on each side of the impeller wheel 10.The inlet port 17 communicates with the passages 18 defined betweenadjacent ones of the vanes 14.

When the impeller wheel 10 is immersed in a liquid mass such as water, athrust is provided by driving or rotating the axle 11 in a clockwisedirection, the impeller rotating in the direction of arrow 19. The waterpresent in the immediate area adjacent the inlet port 17 is drawn intothe impeller passages 18, by the rotating vanes 14, and thrown outwardlytowards the outer end of the passages 18.

Referring to FIGS. 3 and 4 there is shown a wheel vehicle 20 comprisinga buoyant body constructed of fiberglass or other suitable material andsupported on wheels 22. The wheels 22 are each secured to a driven axle23 for displacing the vehicle 20 on land. To steer the vehicle thewheels 22 on one side of the vehicle are slowed down or stopped whilethe wheels on the other side are speeded up or kept constant.

Since the drive or steering mechanism does not form part of the presentinvention it will not be described herein. To provide a forward thrustor propulsion of the vehicle when utilized on water, impeller wheels 10are secured to one or more driven axles 23 on each side of the vehicle20. The impeller wheels 10 are secured on the axle 23 between the wheels22 and the body 21.

In order to provide a rearward thrust to propel the vehicle forward, theimpellers 10 are secured in a cavity 24 which is formed in the sides 25of the vehicle 20. The front 26 of the cavities 24 are shaped in an arcof the same curvature as the impeller wheel so that the outer periphery27 of the impeller wheels 10 are positioned in very close proximity tothe arcuate surface 26 so that the water which is thrown outwardly bythe impellers 10 will not be ejected in the front but directed to theback as shown by the direction of arrows 28. The water thrown outwardlytowards the front arcuate surface 26 will be drawn downwardly in thedirection of arrow 29 by the vanes rotating clockwise. As shown in FIG.6 the upper edge of the vanes 29 may define a concave curvature topermit a better flow of water in the area adjacent the front arcuatesurface 26 to provide a better discharge of water in the direction ofarrow 29 to the bottom of the vehicle body.

As can be seem from FIG. 3 there are three separate cavities 24 on eachside of the vehicle, each of which is located about the protruding endportions of the axles 23. The depth of each cavity 24 is uniform andslightly longer than the width of the impeller wheels 10 so as toprovide for insertion of the necessary spacers 30 between the impellerwheel hub portion 13 and the bottom surface 31 of the cavities 24.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the two front cavities 24 are shapeddifferently than the rear cavities 24. The upper face 32 of the frontcavities each sope rearwardly and downwardly to prevent obstruction ofthe ejected flow of water by the wheel immediately behing it. The upperface 32 of the rear cavity is substantially parallel to the longitudinalaxis of the vehicle to provide straight rearward ejection. The areabetween the fottom surface 31 and the upper face 32, behind the impellerwheels 10, constitute a cavity outlet portion for the water, beingpumped by the impellers, to be ejected.

Referring to FIGS. 7 and 8 there is shown a further embodiment of thepresent invention. In order to provide a more concentrated ejected flowof water, a plate 35 may be secured under the body 21 and extend thefull width of the cavities 24 and along a certain portion of its bottomopening so as'to define a restricted throat portion 36 where themajority of the fluid will be ejected.

As can further be seen from FIGS. 7 and 8 the front arcuate face 26 andthe upper face 32 may be recessed within the body 21 to define a lip 37primarily in the area of the arcuate front face 26. The lip 37 preventsthe water under pressure, in the front face of the cavity, to ejectsideways between the outer periphery of the outer side plate and thefront face 26.

To provide a better supply of water at the outer inlet port 17 (the port17 facing the wheel 22) it is preferable, although not essential thatthe wheel hub not shown, be concave to define a larger open area in theimmediate vicinity of the outer inlet port 17. Also, because the innerside plate 15 is very close to the bottorn surface 31 it is notnecessary to provide an inlet port 17 in that plate as the water willhave limited access to that area when the impeller is in operation.

Referring to FIGS. 9 and 10 there is shown a still further embodiment ofthe present invention. As shown therein, the front arcuate face 26 ofthe cavity 24 has the same curvature as the outer periphery of thecircular side plates 15. The cavity 24 is of substantially uniform widthin the area of the impeller wheel 10 and the bottom surface 44 thereofconverges rearwardly and outwardly to the body side surface 45 as shownin FIG. 10. The cavity 24 is wholly within the body side surface 45which substantially eliminates downward discharge of the water asillustrated by arrows 42. Arrows 43 indicate the direction of flow ofthe water being sucked into the impellers 10 and displaced thereby.

Also, although not shown, it is within the'ambit of the presentinvention to provide the impeller'wheels and cavities with a two trackvehicle whereby the impellers and cavities are positioned in the bodyabout the drive axle between each endless track.

In operation, when the vehicle enters a body of water all wheels 22continue to turn and when the vehicle starts floating the impellerwheels 10 are submerged. The clockwise rotation of the impeller wheelscauses the impellers to draw-in water through the inlet ports 17 andeject it under pressure in a substantially rearward direction. Thisejection is sufficient to propel the vehicle frontwards. To steer thevehicle the speed of the wheels 22 on one side is varied from that ofthe opposite side causing the impellers 10 on one side of the vehicle topump faster than on the other side thereby providing a greater thrust onone side to cause the vehicle to turn.

Although not shown, it is intended to be within the ambit of the presentinvention to provide independent axles or shafts solely to support theimpellers in cavities and transmit the drive to them.

lclaim:

1. In a vehicle having a buoyant body and one or more driven axles fortransmitting a drive to traction means to support and propell thevehicle on land the improvement comprising a cavity provided in eachside of said body about one or more of said driven axles foraccommodating a respective centrifugal pumping wheel secured to said oneor more driven axle, said cavities each having an arcuate front face inclose proximity with a portion of the outer periphery of its respecandext ndin aw y from sa d pump- 0 tlet ort o mg \Siiee subsiantraiiy aacen sar arcuate ace, said pumping wheel in said cavity generating apropelling thrust through said outlet portion when said vehicle isoperated on water.

2. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said centrifugal pumpingwheels are impeller wheels each comprising a hub portion having aplurality of arcuate vanes extending therefrom and two circular sideplates concentrically positioned with respect to said hub portion andeach secured on a respective side thereof and an aperture about thecenter of at least one of said side plates to provide an inlet port tothe passages between said vanes.

3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein said vanes extend from theouter surface of said hub portion and converge curvilinearly outwardlyto the outer periphery of said side plates.

4. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein each said cavities define anarcuate face extending in close proximity along a portion of the outerperiphery of its associated pumping wheel, said arcuate face extendingacross the width of said pumping wheel to thereby provide ejection ofwater by said pumping wheel only in a general rearward direction of saidvehicle.

5. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cavities are of uniformwidth anddefine a front arcuate face and an outlet portion extendingaway from said impeller to permit the ejection of water in a generalrearward and downward direction.

6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cavities are of uniformwidth in the area of said impeller wheel and define a front arcuate faceto cooperate with a portion of the outer periphery of said impeller,said cavity extending rearwardly from said arcuate face, said widthdecreasing in thickness from the area behind said impeller wheel to theside surface of said body.

7. A vehicle as claimed in claim 5 wherein said front arcuate facedefine a lip along its outer edge to prevent ejection of water betweensaid impeller wheel outer v periphery and said arcuate face, said lipextending flush with the outer side surface of said vehicle body.

8. A vehicle as claimed in claim 1 wherein said centrifugal pumpingwheels are impeller wheels each having a bored hub portion, a pluralityof arcuate vanes extending from said hub portion and two circular sideplates centrally positioned with respect to said hub and secured on arespective side thereof, an aperture near the center of each said sideplates to provide an inlet port to passages between said vanes so thatwhen said impeller wheel is rotated in water the water will be drawninto said passages through said apertures and be ejected outwardly atthe outer periphery of said wheel, said cavity defining an arcuate faceextending in close proximity along a portion of the outer periphery ofits associated impeller wheel and extending across both said side platesto thereby provide ejection of water by said impeller only in a generalrearward direction of said vehicle.

1. In a vehicle having a buoyant body and one or more driven axles fortransmitting a drive to traction means to support and propell thevehicle on land the improvement comprising a cavity provided in eachside of said body about one or more of said driven axles foraccommodating a respective centrifugal pumping wheel secured to said oneor more driven axle, said cavities each having an arcuate front face inclose proximity with a portion of the outer periphery of its respectivepumping wheel to prevent water from being discharged in the direction ofsaid arcuate front face and an outlet portion extending away from saidpumping wheel substantially adjacent said arcuate face, said pumpingwheel in said cavity generating a propelling thrust through said outletportion when said vehicle is operated on water.
 2. A vehicle as claimedin claim 1 wherein said centrifugal pumping wheels are impeller wheelseach comprising a hub portion having a plurality of arcuate vanesextending therefrom and two circular side plates concentricallypositioned with respect to said hub portion and each secured on arespective side thereof and an aperture about the center of at least oneof said side plates to provide an inlet port to the passages betweensaid vanes.
 3. A vehicle as claimed in claim 2 wherein said vanes extendfrom the outer surface of said hub portion and converge curvilinearlyoutwardly to the outer periphery of said side plates.
 4. A vehicle asclaimed in claim 2 wherein each said cavities define an arcuate faceextending in close proximity along a portion of the outer periphery ofits associated pumping wheel, said arcuate face extending across thewidth of said pumping wheel to thereby provide ejection of water by saidpumping wheel only in a general rearward direction of said vehicle.
 5. Avehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein said cavities are of uniform widthand define a front arcuate face and an outlet portion extending awayfrom said impeller to permit the ejection of water in a general rearwardand downward direction.
 6. A vehicle as claimed in claim 4 wherein saidcavities are of uniform width in the area of said impeller wheel anddefine a front arcuate face to cooperate with a portion of the outerperiphery of said impeller, said cavity extending rearwardly from saidarcuate face, said width decreasing in thickness from the area behindsaid impeller wheel to the side surface of said body.
 7. A vehicle asclaimed in claim 5 wherein said front arcuate face define a lip alongits outer edge to prevent ejection of water between said impeller wheelouter periphery and said arcuate face, said lip extending flush with theouter side surface of said vehicle body.
 8. A vehicle as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said centrifugal pumping wheels are impeller wheels eachhaving a bored hub portion, a plurality of arcuate vanes extending fromsaid hub portion and two circular side plates centrally positioned withrespect to said hub and secured on a respective side thereof, anaperture near the center of each said side plates to provide an inletport to passages between said vanes so that when said impeller wheel isrotated in water the water will be drawn into said passages through saidapertures and be ejected outwardly at the outer periphery of said wheel,said cavity defining an arcuate face extending in close proximity alonga portion of the outer periphery of its associated impeller wheel andextending across both said side plates to thereby provide ejection ofwater by said impeller only in a general rearward direction of saidvehicle.